The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-11-26
NATURAL GAS IN PITTSBURG
How'll Is Supplied for the Use of Manu-
facturers and Other Consumers.
About 5OO,OO0.O0O Feet Consumed or Wasted
Daily-he Cost of Service Said to
Be Fully $3,OO0,0OO q Year.
pittsburg Letter in Chicago Tribune.

the coal deposits which formed the foundation O,
its strength beginning everything with q thick
layer OF sooty black, and giving rise to dense
murkiness in the at mosphere that often shut ou
the sunlight for many days in succession. Now
the glory of Pittsburg resembles that of the sur
ITSELF in one very important respect. It depend:
on gas. A huge bubble Of that material, 860 OO(
miles in diameter. makes up the bulk of the
central orb IN the solar system; while 500 000 OOC
cubic feet drawn into the town and it's suburbs
and consumed or wasted there every day form
the basic fact that in the huge wave of prosper
ity that has recently swept over that Smoky
City" The last named fact may well be astound.
ing to one who against it for the first time es
pecially when he is told that the whole of this vas,
volume Of gas is manufactured in the retorts OF
mother earth. and needs no trust" in the mat.
ter. except it be in the shape of confidence in
the integrity of the means which are subjected
to tremendous interior pressure in the act of
conveying it from the wells. Yet the great ma
jority of the people who directly benefited
by this inflow speak of it as if it were tale al
ready tcld; that is, when they condescend to
talk about it at all. It is about as difficult to
get inform alton in regard to it from some of
them as it is to persuade the most pompous rail-
road conductor to tell any bat a pretty woman
where his train is at the moment and when it
will arrive at a point named on the line. Even
the newspapers published there have SO little to
say on the subject that the younger journalists
seem to know no more about it than the average
child in Chicago to-day does of the great fire.
The enthusiasm of three years ago has given
place to the indifference which usually marks
the acceptance of fact a matter of course
Still the writer found few gentlemen who were
kind enough to place at his service the desired
information and to accompany him over their
works. where he witnessed the operation of
rolling mills. glass houses, etc, in which moth
ing but the natural gas is used for fuel and iilu-
mlnation.
The Significance of the change in the condition
at Pittsburg can best be understood by the aid
OF a few other figures explanatory of those given
above dozsn years ago the evouti of four
cubic feet of gas from pound of good coal was
regarded as the limit of practcabllity. The
manufacturer had progressed little beyond the
experiment of DR.. Hales of England. 100 years
since. in which he obtained $50 cubic inches of
inf1ammable gas from 158 grains of Newcastle
coal, being at the rate Of little more than four
and a half feet per pound. The present produc-
ton OF Illuminating gas Is nearer ten than four
and half. while gas that in burning will give
out a great deal of heat but comparatively little
light can now be made at the rate of twenty-fi five
CUBIC feet to the pound of coal. The latter is
called 'fuel-gas." 1t contains plenty of hydro
gen. but not much carbon, and it is NEARLY
this kind that flows from the earth in the vicn-
iLy of Pittsburg 1t is found by experiment that
the com bustion of seven and half feet of this
natural gas gives about as much heat does
pound of coal. If we double this figure,
be making very liberal allowance for waste
and miscalculation, and shall still have daily
gas equivalent of L. 900 TONS or 600 600 tons per
aunum poured into Pittsburg and vicinity, the
same being one and half times the coal con
sumption of Chicago. The total cost of delivery
OF gas to consumers for the year ending few
weeks ago was So, $50, 000 which will bring up
the present rate TO just about So. 600 900 per
mum, or not far from so cents per ton Of coal.
he cost OF coal AZ the mines is now 81 Is; 1t is
US ualy 81. TO- and amounts fully 81. so delv-
cred. That is there is a saving of 81 per ton,
or total of So 600, 900 per year. an advantage
conferred upon Prtsburg by it's natural gas
supply. independent of important savings in
other directions which may be mentioned subse
quently. The above named sum is equal to
about II per cent of the selling value of the
manufactures of Chicago It is wonder
their favor, the manufacturers of Pittsburg
have taken big forward stride in the process of
development. It is estimated that their output
has increased not far from 90 per cent, with
augment OF more than 10 per cent. in the num-
Der of establishments. in the three years that
have elapsed since natural gas was first pped
the increase in activity is due to the extensions
of gas service that are constantly in progress.
About 100000 tons OF gas and water pipe, valued
at S15. 600, 000 turned out annually, and it is
that the plumbers alone have made
out bills ageregatine $1.500000 for connecting
houses with the gas-naius. in the last three
has increased in value fully 25 per cent, and
some of 1t has doubled in selling price in the
same time
The numoer of wells now engaged in contrib
utine this immense supply of 500, 000 600 cubic
feet of gas daily is ZAP, but the total number
sunk mp to date is about $50 some of which
held in reserve, and others have failed to yield
gas. The average cost of putting down we'll
is given So 600 to Sc 600 or say ST. 600 600 for
all. The distance Of these wells from the city
varies from six to thirty five miles, and the con-
sv~4 load fhA lo-t 4S fxllry
miles of canal and street mains. the largest being
thirty inches in diameter. The weight Of these
is estimated TO average ninety tons to the mile
which, with mill and house connections will
give total weight of about 100000 tons Of
buried rop, the cost of making and placing
which was over 50 600 900. Hence we have a to-
in the different ''plants," besides the value of
the real estate. of which the writer give
no estimate. Hence it costs great deal of
money to simply collect and distribute the
gas if fair return be made on the capital in
vested. But it is evident that when the pipes
are once laid little more or less of gas makes
90 appreciable difference to the COMPANIES sup
olyiug it. and there need be no wonder at the
fact that the people of Pitcsbure are served with
,as in very much the same way that water is sup
Piled TO consumers in Chicago, though 1t is prob
able that meters will De introduced extensively
s-e long, with the object of preventing unneces-
'ary waste, which might cause premature ex-
haustion of the wells. The gas has even the adj
vantage water of not requiring to be
pumped in order to- be obtain a distrib utine
force. But this IS more than counterbalanced
By the fact tina. the gas has be collected from
30 many different wells, instead of taking it all
n through one inlet pipe, which easily supplied
he whole of Chicago when its population was
equal to the $50 900 claimed for Pittsburs today.
The price charged to consumers is. however,
passed upon approximate estimates of the quanti-
Y that will be used in the course of the year.
The rate for ordinary dwelling houses is $50 TO |
40 per annum being $40 for each fifteen feet |
square. Otherwise, it is $50 per month for |
lsatine stoves, and So. 100 per month for |
,pen CRATES. The latter are generally provided |
With a quantity of small cubes of the same ma
eral that is used here for lining stoves which.
when heated up. have very much the appear |
lnce of burning Goals. and radate great deal |
stoves are warmed by simple jet. No account |
seems be made OF jets for illumination in |
oIttsburg. though they are charged for at the |
ate of fifteen cents per month in the adjacent
country, and give there a vastly better light |
han the olj-fashIoned candle, in spite of the !
act that the gas is not of the kind called iliu-